Member Avatar for hksaddict

hi everybody, just needed to ask this: I have an older pc with a newer agp graphics card. It plays games relatively fast. I got a new computer for christmas and it has a pci-e card slot with an onboard(256 mb nvidia geforce 6100) that dosent run anywhere near 256mb. Is there ANYTHING THAT I CAN USE (That is cheap of course ;) ) to convert the agp into pci-e, this can include any adapters, or changes.

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Short version: there is no cheap, reliable way to turn an AGP card into a PCIe card. AGP and PCI Express use different electrical signaling, pinouts and firmware expectations; any adapter would need an active protocol bridge and is not a practical consumer option. That is why selling the AGP card and buying a PCIe card is the usual route—echoing and —but here are concrete, actionable details to make the swap smooth.

Why an adapter isn’t feasible: AGP is a parallel, chipset-linked port; PCIe is a serial, point-to-point link with different voltages and an Option ROM model the card and BIOS expect. Passive pin adapters won’t work. Building a working converter requires active logic and a BIOS/driver-compatible solution, which doesn’t exist as a cheap off-the-shelf product for desktop GPUs.

Practical upgrade checklist:

  1. Verify the new PC actually has a PCIe x16 slot and clearance for the card.
  2. Check the power supply: note wattage and whether it has 6/8-pin PCIe power connectors. Prefer cards that need no external power if the PSU is weak.
  3. Pick a low-power PCIe card (used market often has good bargains) that suits the PSU and case size.
  4. In BIOS set primary display to PCIe/PEG if that option exists; install the card, connect monitor to the discrete output, boot and install the correct drivers.
  5. If needed, disable integrated video in BIOS or Device Manager after confirming the discrete card works.

Troubleshooting and extra notes: as pointed out, the listed “256MB” onboard is typically shared system RAM (UMA)—in many boards only a tiny dedicated chunk exists—so upping that value rarely matches a discrete card. If there’s no post after installing a card, reseat it, verify power leads, try a different cable or monitor port, clear CMOS and update BIOS. If selling the AGP card, local classifieds or specialist used-hardware communities often get better prices than general listings.

This approach avoids chasing an impractical adapter and targets a predictable, working upgrade path.

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Member Avatar for bwjones

Not that I know of, the equivalent in hardware like vid-cards are cheaper for PCI-e than for AGP. So you can probably sell you ragp card and have enough to buy th esame card for pci-e brand new. Go to newegg .com and comapre, you'll see what I mean.

Member Avatar for hksaddict

ya i know but im not sure where a good authorized dealer for selling agp cards to is. I live in tampa any suggestions for places to go would be helpful.

Member Avatar for bwjones

ya i know but im not sure where a good authorized dealer for selling agp cards to is. I live in tampa any suggestions for places to go would be helpful.

*EBAY* ;)

Member Avatar for jbennet

its slow as your "256mb" onboard card is actually 8mb and steals the rest from system RAM.

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